Mdluli ‘too stressed’ to work

5 June 2012 13:24

Suspended police crime intelligence boss Lieutenant-General Richard Mdluli says his doctor has booked him off work for stress and hypertension and told him he needs rest.

This emerged from an affidavit Mdluli filed in opposition to an urgent application by Freedom Under Law for a court order to stop him from performing any official duties at all, pending the outcome of an application to reinstate criminal and disciplinary charges against him.

The application was heard in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria today.

The twists and turns in the saga of Mdluli – who has been repeatedly suspended and reinstated – were described by the Freedom Under Law counsel, advocate Vincent Maleka (SC), as “a ping-pong game” between Mdluli and the police.

Judge Ephraim Makgoka described it as “a merry-go-round”. “Who knows if that suspension won’t be lifted again?”

Counsel for acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi argued that the application was “academic”, as the investigation against Mdluli had been suspended again.

Mdluli on Friday obtained an urgent order in the labour court in Johannesburg for his immediate reinstatement under what was described as suspicious circumstances.

Mkhwanazi in turn, on Sunday, obtained an order to overturn the Friday ruling, but the issue will be back in the Labour Court on June 21.

Freedom Under Law intends approaching the court for an order to set aside decisions by the national director of public prosecutions and the acting national police commissioner to withdraw criminal and disciplinary charges against Mdluli.

Mdluli was reinstated in March after allegations that a group of his senior colleagues were involved in a conspiracy to oust him, although he was suspended again last month.

Mdluli, who was appointed in 2009 as the head of crime intelligence, was initially charged with murder, intimidation, kidnapping, assault and defeating the ends of justice in March last year.

This was followed by charges of fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering in September.

The fraud and related charges were, however, withdrawn in December and the murder and related charges in February this year, followed by the withdrawal of disciplinary charges against him.

Maleka argued that a senior officer facing such serious charges showed that he was clearly not the type of person who was able to perform his duties.

Referring to Mdluli’s insistence that he was ill, Maleka said it was in any event clear that Mdluli would not be able to carry out his duties, which were clearly stressful.

Judge Makgoba said, amid laughter, it appeared that giving Mdluli a rest “might be better”.

Maleka said Mdluli’s serious allegations of a conspiracy also made it unwise for him to work with the very same colleagues he was accusing.

Counsel for the acting police commissioner, Mandla Zulu, made it clear that the police did not want to reinstate Mdluli at this stage and believed he should remain on suspension.

He, however, said it was not for the court, Freedom Under Law or any other organisation to interfere in the police commissioner’s execution of his duties.

Zulu argued that the Freedom Under Law’s application was totally unnecessary, and that there was no basis to distrust the acting commissioner and that it was not for the court to usurp his functions.